The Small Firms Association has selected 41 companies to contest its annual Small Business Awards, drawn from 12 counties and spread across nine categories.

Chairwoman Sue O’Neill  (pictured) said: “The SFA National Small Business Awards are now entering their sixteenth year and are a celebration of small business owners who, in the past five years, created more than 75,000 jobs. 

“The 267,000 small firms in Ireland employ half of the private sector workforce, and these awards aim to promote excellence, achievement and innovation among these companies in all sectors and parts of the country. The companies that have been announced as finalists this year represent all that is good about small business.”

Shortlisted firms can avail of participation in the SFA Business Connect event in February 2020, and a strategic management masterclass weekend. Finalists also receive five complimentary tickets to the prize-giving ceremony in the RDS, Dublin, on March 12.

The overall winner will receive a bursary of €5,000 to present to a charity of their choice. The full list of finalists is:

In Association with

MANUFACTURING  (up to 50 employees), sponsored by NSAI:

1. KORE Insulation, Cavan
2. Big Red Barn, Mayo
3. Kells Traditional Timber Windows & Doors, Meath
4. Carlow Concrete, Carlow
5. Green Angel, Dublin

FOOD & DRINK  (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Bord Bia:

1. Baggot Street Wines, Dublin
2. Food at Fishers, Wicklow
3. Kettles Country House Hotel, Dublin
4. The Tipperary Cheese Company, Tipperary
5. Camerino Bakery, Dublin
6. Ice Cream Treats, Cavan

SERVICES  (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Vodafone:

1. Etag Fixings Ireland, Dublin
2. On-site Refuelling, Dublin
3. Riverside Spa, Cavan
4. SimoTech, Cork
5. T&I Fitouts, Kildare
6. Hero Recruitment, Galway

OUTSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS (up to five employees), sponsored by One4All:

1. BusterBox, Dublin
2. Gill Opticians, Dublin
3. Scattery Island Tours, Clare
4. Smart Business Analytics, Westmeath
5. Mattress Mick, Dublin
6. Child Paths, Dublin

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Permanent tsb:

1. Big Red Barn, Mayo
2. Equine MediRecord, Kildare
3. Ice Cream Treats, Cavan
4. Terra NutriTECH, Kildare
5. Woodco Renewable Energy, Tipperary
6. Zevo Health, Dublin

SUSTAINABILITY (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland:

1. KORE Insulation, Cavan
2. MBSL, Dublin
3. Vivid Edge, Dublin
4. Shoe Lane Coffee, Dublin

EXPORTER OF THE YEAR (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Enterprise Ireland:

1. Carlow Concrete, Carlow
2. IMS Marketing, Galway
3. Smarter Surfaces, Dublin
4. Adams & Butler, Dublin
5. BusterBox, Dublin
6. Big Red Barn, Mayo

WORKPLACE WELLBEING (up to 50 employees), sponsored by DeCare Dental:

1. Interactions, Wicklow
2. Guardian Safety, Dublin
3. IMS Marketing, Galway
4. AVCOM, Dublin

EMERGING NEW BUSINESSES (up to 50 employees and less than two years in business), sponsored by IE Domain Registry:

1. Vitztronics Smart Solutions, Kildare
2. Buildtech, Dublin
3. Soothing Solutions, Meath
4. The Salt Rooms, Meath
5. Vanguard Health Services International, Dublin